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The Teenage Engineering OP-Z is a yet to be released portable sequencer and synthesizer. It's the successor to the venerable OP-1 with a penchant for liver performances.
August 15, 2018
Cuckoo has posted part four of his video series on preparing for a gig and it includes an extended look at the OP-Z. For what it’s worth he says it’s coming out “very very soon”, but who knows. Also of note is that he mentions he could even replace other parts of his rig (looking at you Digitakt).
At around 29:03 (yes it’s a very long video!), we can see Cuckoo jam with some patterns, shwowing off various tape tricks, and talking about the portability of the unit.
Check it out!
August 14, 2018
After about a week of near full stop of the OP-Z hype train, two new videos have been posted on YouTube by beta testers. Looks like we stumbled upon them early as they currently stand at 16 views and 66 views respectively. Hype train back on track!
The following video from Bruno Kramm shows off some crunchy sounds (maybe a distortion?), arpeggiator, and possibly automated key changes. The thing I like most is how musical the whole thing ends up sounding due to the variation and ability to quickly manipulate the performance on the fly.
The video from Brandon Guerra shows off Pocket Operator like punch-in FX and some other goodies. There’s some nice bell-like tones that are more atmospheric than things we’ve heard before on the device thus far. There’s also some automatic key changes and transposition going on here too.
August 10, 2018
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Welp, the announced OP-Z launch date (https://www.opzed.com/news/opz-launch-delayed.html) for the US came and went without an OP-Z to be found… except at an exclusive pop-up preview in New York City. Unfortunately there were NDAs and no new information emerged, but we got a few fun pics (https://www.opzed.com/news/nyc-sneak-preview-wrapup.html) of the Teenage Engineering crew.
There is likely a box that is still sitting around somewhere in US customs filled with OP-Z pre-production units that never made it to MoMA, but for now all we can do is wait and dream… and speculate.
At least we got some more glimpses into what the OP-Z sequencer and synthesizers can do from a new OP-Z video from Cuckoo! There’s some nice sounds in there so it’s worth a watch/listen to this OP-Z only session at Superbooth.
Ta ta for now, Alex from OP-Zed
August 2, 2018
Update 8/10/2018: Looks like attendees had the opportunity to fill out a form to request buying a pre production unit that would ship at some point when the units stuck in customs arrived. Will we see them start to crop up soon?
On July 31st, Teenage Engineering held a private preview of the OP-Z to show off OP-Z features. It was reported that NDAs were required in order to participate so details are sparse at this point, but there were a few enthusiastic reactions coming out.
From @starcadian from the Operator-1 forum attended the preview event:
It’s all under NDA, but yeah this thing is super rad to say the least, size feels great, sounds are awesome, much fatter sounding than the OP1, lots of awesome little updates to the OP1 workflow. I’m not going to go into the stuff they showed but get hyped!
On Instagram, @op1andchill says:
I think the op-z will be a great compliment to the op-1, but is not intended to replace it by any means.
There’s also a few pictures from the mysterious event. In true Teenage Engineering fashion they doned their… hazmat suits.
No new information yet as to when the OP-Z release date will be. At least give us some more pics and videos!
August 1, 2018
Cuckoo has released a new video on his YouTube channel cuckoomusic which is his first full OP-Z performance at the recent Superbooth 2018 in Berlin. There have been a couple of clips that have popped up of this performance, but until now nothing complete. Check it out!
This is probably the best look so far at the various OP-Z synthesizer and sampler sounds. There’s everything from Cuckoo-ish chiptune sounds as well as breathy almost wind instrument like. The drum and percussion sounds are a mixed back of glitchy hits and full throated bassdrums. To top it off, Cuckoo liberally plays with tape tricks, stutters, and variation (possibly step components?) into the patterns.
Nice one Cuckoo!
July 29, 2018
Update 8/1/2018: There was a small preview party where people who DM’d @teenageengineering on Instagram could attend. TE still seems to be keeping tight lipped about the final OP-Z specs and had all of the attendees sign NDAs.
Update 7/31/2018: On an instagram post from Symon @symonjc, Teenage Engineering replied that the pre-production units have not cleared customs yet so the event has been canceled.
If you are in or around New York City this week you might be able to snag a pre-production OP-Z unit from the Teenage Engineering crew. In a message from Tobias on operator-1.com where he confirmed the delay to the OP-Z launch, he also mentioned that they are still making the trip to NYC and plan to have about 100 pre-production units to sell. No word on the price for this limited run or how close it will match the retail units to follow.
In unfortunate news, the OP-Z launch date has been officially delayted due to production issues.
From Tobias @one: > … there had been a chemical leak at the factory next to ours, thus causing the area, including our OP-Z factory to shut down operation for a few weeks. a little while later i saw the official internal te email stating the same. due to our super tight production plan this meant we were not going to be able to supply moma with the quantities required, and our (rather grand) plans could not be realized and had to be cancelled.
He then goes on to talk about a limited set of pre-production OP-Z units they are hoping to bring on their trip:
… we’ve shipped a handful of pre-production units (hope they’ll clear customs) so if you’re in town please check our insta for updates on where we’ll be
It looks like we will need to wait a little bit longer, but if you do happen to get your hands on an OP-Z pre-production unit we would love to hear from you.
If you are in NYC, keep an eye on the @teenageengineering Instagram page and try and get your hands on one!
July 28, 2018
Update 7/28/2018: Tobias confirmed on the operator-1 forum that the intended OP-Z launch date of July 31st, 2018 isn’t happening. There’s been an incident at the factory that is producing the OP-Z and they are behind schedule.
Word on the street from @alvingreen on operator-1.com mentioned they went to MoMA in New York City and, when asked about the OP-Z, said that it was delayed and won’t make the July 31st OP-Z launch date that was previously mentioned.
Was just at the moma in soho they said the only details they had is that it’s delayed and not happening Monday.
This is somewhat unsurprising for Teenage Engineering as different timelines have come and gone related to the OP-Z. Fans are happy to wait to make sure that it works well and meets what we’ve all come to expect from TE. We hope the OP-Z launch date delay in the US is a matter of weeks rather than years!
July 27, 2018
Let’s check out the latest OP-Z pictures and video on Instagram! Things have died down recently after a flurry of beta tester shots, but here are the highlights from the last month or so.
@dungeon_acid showing us some fun tape tricks and the iOS app for OP-Z (also nice funky shades!)
A moody b&w shot from of the OP-Z with headphones plugged in from @symonjc
Size of the OP-Z vs OP-1 from @mmag.ru
July 20, 2018
The Teenage Engineering OP-Z was spotted in a recent Cuckoo video that provided a few new details into the OP-Z’s synth engine. Each track has 10 “plugs” which appear to be different presets or engines that can be tweaked using the encoders.
We also catch a glimpse into composing songs as Cuckoo makes a super quick demo. There’s much anticipation into the details of the OP-Z, but it looks like it’s still not final (at least from the beta testers).
Check it out from 00:34:00 to see the OP-Z in action. Thanks Cuckoo!
May 3, 2018
Update 9/17/2018: Teenage Engineering announced ship dates in ‘mid October’
Update 8/31/2018: There’s a new launch date rumor that there is a party to celebrate the launch of the OP-Z on September 17th, 2018
Update 8/9/2018: Although the OP-Z launch has been delayed, Guitar Center’s website now says the OP-Z will be available 9/8/2018. This has not been confirmed by Teenage Engineering.
The Teenage Engineering OP-Z has the closest thing to a real launch date after an interview at SuperBooth with Tobias, founder of Teenage Engineering. The OP-Z launch date will be July 31st, 2018 in the US for $599 and rumors place an EU launch later in October 2018. DAW-less jammers rejoice!
Pre-orders are availble through Sweetwater.